Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Please read this article in the New York Times. It details the death of a soldier linked to a common exercise supplement, DMAA (dimethylamylamine,) This can be found in several popular supplements, including Jack3d, a supplement that I heard really good things about!

Saturday, March 16, 2013

I am a member of the National Lipid Association (Yes, exciting I know!). This morning I received an email about the newest Niacin study HPS2-THRIVE. The study (using EXTENDED RELEASE Niacin) found that:

"The primary composite endpoint of major vascular events (MVE) was not significantly reduced (risk ratio 0.96, 95% CI: 0.90-1.03, p =0.3) in the active arm. "Serious adverse events" were found in 3% more subjects in the active arm, although most were "minor hyperglycemic problems." Myopathy generally was uncommon (0.34%/yr), but was 4-fold higher overall in the active arm, and 10-fold higher among Chinese subjects."

Regardless, the NLA believes that, "Meanwhile, we believe that niacin remains a valuable adjunct to statin treatment for LDL-C lowering, and a valuable statin alternative in statin intolerant patients."

The bottom line is that for years we have known that Extended Release Niacin increases your risk for liver toxicity and shows little of the cardiovascular benefit that (real, Immediate Release) Niacin shows. If you are intolerant (like most people) of Niacin (Immediate Release), do not expect to get the same health benefits from the extended release preparations.

This illustrates the foundation of the Paleo/Primal movement: If you take real, healthy, natural food and manipulate it in a lab, do not expect to get the same health benefits!

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Another great article by Zoe Harcombe on (another demonized nutrient essential for life) salt!

A sample:

"9) There is no evidence that salt causes heart disease; there is evidence that low salt is associated with heart attacks
A study of approximately 3,000 hypertensive subjects (men with high blood pressure) found that there was a 430% increase in myocardial infarction (heart attack) in the group with the lowest salt intake versus the group with the highest salt intake. (Ref 6) Knowing how vital salt is for human health, this should not be surprising – low-sodium diets have been shown to cause multiple nutrient deficiencies, including nutrients vital for heart health (calcium, magnesium, potassium and B-vitamins). (Ref 7)
The SACN report concluded: “There are insufficient reliable data on long-term effects of salt on cardiovascular disease outcomes to reach clear conclusions.” Quite."